Killer Instinct E3 hands-on: Too old-school for its own good

Killer Instinct's E3 return is a mixture of nostalgia and confusion.

While I may not be the best fighting game player in the world, I do and have always enjoyed them. This is why I find Killer Instinct to be such an anomaly.

The fighting genre has come a long way in the almost 20 years since it was released - 20 years! - so seeing it back in action in 2013 was always going to be an intriguing prospect. The somewhat surprising marketing and distributing decisions aside, this is very much the Killer Instinct you remember, sped up and polished with a fine amount of modern teachings.

Doing what all good 2D fighters now do (which is borrow a thing or two from Street Fighter IV) Killer Instinct is far faster than those memories you have from 1994. Deliberately built with speed in mind, it makes for a far more frenzied experience and one that is, arguably, better than the original.

Staples of the genre - such as creating your own Ultra Combos or abusing the Combo Breaker - mean this is certainly an easy game to get into, and in all honesty it'll serve the many people who have demanded this for some time well. There's plenty of room here for those who know what they're actually doing to pit their wits against one another in style.

Unfortunately, these tweaks combined with the now added pace mean Killer Instinct is incredibly easy to take advantage of where button mashing is concerned. During multiple matches I came up against an opponent who fancied doing nothing more than smashing their palm into the fighting stick and yet somehow pulling off a series of devastatingly quick moves that were difficult to do anything about.

Learning how and when to counter, obviously, becomes key, but the seeming design choice to ensure everyone can settle down for a match or two without a huge barrier for entry means there may be a few players that get frustrated with mindless repeated attacks.

There's still something nice here, mind, especially as it remains as over the top as it ever was with certain moves so ridiculous you can't help but laugh. The in-game purchase system may hamper its potential community, but as a day one download Killer Instinct should manage to appease those who demanded its return.